Simply Organized: Creating A Menu Plan

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by Renae Chiovaro on January 18, 2011

Spending a little time menu planning and learning to shop effectively will stretch your food budget a long way. Menu planning can be done in a variety of ways- an elaborate plan for several weeks or a general idea. For my family, having a flexible meal plan is a must. I have a general idea of what I am cooking for the week but I am flexible on what night’s I cook certain things.

One of the easiest ways to spend less at the grocery store is to plan your meals around the store’s ads. Design your menu based on what’s on sale that week and check what you have in your pantry. Most of my grocery shopping trips look very odd- there is usually only ingredients for partial meals since I only buy the sale items. For example, one week I might only buy pasta, a pot roast, tortillas and vegetables. However at home in the pantry I have pasta sauce, refried beans and enchilada sauce.

Another way to stretch your food budget and your time is to cook once, but eat twice. I like to cook a large portion of meat and then make totally different meals from it. So the pot roast in the example above becomes shredded beef for enchiladas for a second meal that week.

Cooking in season will reduce your grocery bill too, so plan your menu for seasonal fruits and vegetables. Buying fresh berries in the winter is costly, not to mention the loss in taste. Instead, plan ahead and buy or pick fresh berries in the summer, then flash freeze them for winter. Other examples of seasonal items are condiments in the summer and canned soup in the winter.

Quick Reference Tips for Menu Planning:

Pair sale items with ingredients in your pantry.
Cook in season.
Cook a large portion of meat and then use in different recipes.
Be flexible in case something unexpected comes up.
Plan ahead for stockpiling- especially seasonal items.
Don’t be afraid to try new recipes!
Post the menu plan on the fridge so other family members can pitch in to help. (i.e. Hubby get’s home before I do!).

Bargain grocery shopping is like learning a new game: There are strategies and different levels of involvement based on the time you have or make available. However, you do not have to be an “extreme couponer” to save a dollar. Just plan your menu, learn your prices and cook in season to cut costs.

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Renae Chiovaro

Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.